Condiment holder



Jan. 21, 1930.

l. E. BROWN `)5T Az. CONDIMENT HLDER Filed April 50, 1929 PatentedV 2l, 1930 UNITED ySTATES PATENT oFFlcE mme E. Eaowu AND menons nouw, or PERTE mov, NEW JEEsEv coNDnfmN'r HOLDER.

Application nled April 30,

The ob'e'ct of this invention is to provide a holder or salt, sugar and other substances 4or condiments, which while being easily operable for the discharge of the substances, is 5 closed substantially a1rtight when not in use. The invention consists of a cap adapted to be applied to a bottle, jar or other container, in such wa as to permit the lling of the container, sai cap having a lateral, instead of an end discharge provision', and this lateral discharge opening being normally closed by a spring valve, mounted in the cap, the valve being of the nature ofl a push valve and operable from outside the ca the top of the cap l5 being closed, as we wil proceed now more fully to explain and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustratin the invention, in the several gures of whic like parts are similarl designated, Figure l 2o is a top plan view of t e cap. Fig.2 is a longitudinal section of the cap ap lied to a container shown only partially. ig. 3 is an end elevation.

1 is a cap, preferably made of metal, having a closed top 2 and the skirt 3, which last may be of any suitable construction to afford an easy means of attachment to and detachment from a container; in the drawing the attaching and detaching means being shownl as a screwthread. 1

Depending from the inner side of the top is a bearing lug 4 having a transverse opening 5, and in alignment with this opening are the openings 6 and 7 op osite each other and 'made in the skirt 3. T e openings'5' and 6 are of a size to receive and support a stem 8 having a head 9. Between the lug 4 and the opening 7 the stem is reduced, as at 10, and the outside end of the reduced portion of the stem is provided with the valve disk 11 which is enough larger than the opening 7 to close said opening. Preferably the cap is attened at 12 adjacent to the openin 7, so that\the valve may seat closely aroun said opening, to close it. To hold the valve closed, a sping 13 is mounted within the cap so as to ar at one end against the inside of the cap opposite the opening 7 and having a seat 14 including a washer member moving with the stem to com- 50 press the spring and permit the uncovering 1929. Serial No. 359,376.

of the opening 7 by lengthwise ressure on the stem, the valve 11 automatical closing under the retractive action of t e s ring as force is released from the stem. O viously, the valve mechanism is in the nature of a push-button.

As shown in Fig. 2, the cap is applied to the mouth or neck 15 of the container 16, art only of which last is shown, and this contalner is of such nature as to hold salt, sugar, and .60 other substances or condiments, which are to be dlspensed by a shaking motion when the valve is open. Obviously thev cap not being provided with top end perforations, as usual in condiment holders, and the laterally 'ar- .65 ranged discharge opening being normally closed by the va ve 11, the entrance of moisture from the atmosphere into the container 1s excluded, and the contents, therefore, are preserved vagainst agglomerating, caking, or '.70 becomlng lumpy. oreover, should the container tip over sidewise, the contents of the container will not escape.

Should'the contents agglomerate, cake or be lumpy, its contact with the lug 4, stem 8, the kl5 spring 13, and the washenmember of the sprlng seat, when the container is being shaken, would tend to break up lumps or cakes, and thus keep the contents in easily dischargeable condition.

v Any arrangement may be used for confining the s l ring between the stem 8 and the portion of t e cap next to the discharge opening 7 in'such position and alignment as to prevent accidental displacement of the spring, or in other words, to hold the spring in alignment with the stem.

It will be observed that the cap itself contains the operating mechanism as a unit, without re uirmg any change in the container, and thus t e device, among other advantages, is self-contained and capable of use on diierent containers which have ap ropriate necks.

Variations are permissi le within the principle of the invention and the claims following.

' 1. A condiment holder cap, closed at on end at the top, and having a skirt adapted to be applied to a container, said cap provided 10 with a lug depending from the inside of the top of the cap and having a transverse opening, the skirt of the cap having opposite perforations, one of which constitutes the dis- 5 charge opening, and a spring-closed valve applied to the discharge opening and having its stem mounted in the other opposite perforation andthe opening in the lug.

2. A condiment holder ca closed at the top end and having a skirt a apted to be applied to a container, said skirt having oppositely arranged perforations, a lug dependin from the inside of the top of the cap an having a transverse opening, one of the opposite perforations constituting a dischar e opening, a stem movably supported in sald transverse opening of the lug and having a push head at one end extending through the opposite perforation in the skirt and outside of the cap, a valve applied to the other end 'of the stem and located on the outside of the skirt and covering its opposite perforation, and a spring mounted on the valved end "o the stem between the lug and the discharg opening.

3. A condiment holder cap, closed at the top end and having a skirt adapted to be applied to a container, said skirt having eppositely arranged perforations, a lug depending from the inside of the top of the cap and having a transverse opening, one of the opposite perforations constituting a discharge opening, a stem movably supported in said transverse opening of the lug and having a push head at one end extending through the opposite perforation in the skirt and outside of the cap, a valve applied to the other end 'of the stem and located on the outside of the skirt and covering its opposite perforation, 40 and a spring mounted on the valved end of Athe stem between the lug and the discharge opening, the spring and the supporting lug located wholly within the cap and serving in use to break up any lumps of materialin 45. the container.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto set our hands this 27th day of April, A. D.,

IRVING E. BROWN. 5 NICHOLAS HOFFMAN. 

